


While We Can

by songofhell



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M, post 12x21
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-05-13
Packaged: 2018-10-31 10:26:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10897425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songofhell/pseuds/songofhell
Summary: -12x21 spoilers-Sam and Dean are trapped to die in the bunker with Toni Bevell, but Dean’s not about to let that happen. There’s one person he can get word to who should be able to help them - Crowley. But why is there suddenly a rat in the bunker?





	While We Can

**Author's Note:**

> I needed to write something after 12x21 to cope with how angry I was, so here’s what I came up with. Basically, I asked myself, ‘What semi-good thing can come after that episode?’ and I wrote this.

“Dean, what are you doing?” Sam demanded as Dean rushed around the bunker, their home that they were now trapped in.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” he snapped without stopping his rush to gather the ingredients for a demon summoning. “I’m summoning Crowley. He can zap us out of here.”

“The demon?” Toni questioned, as haughty as ever, even when she was condemned to die with Sam and Dean Winchester.

“No, the poet. Yes, the freakin’ demon! Now shut up and stop wasting our oxygen.”

She pursed her lips, but miraculously managed to refrain from speaking as Dean finished up the summoning spell. A few seconds later, the empty space before him was occupied by… a rat.

“What the hell?” he muttered as Toni coughed to hide a laugh, and Sam stepped up beside him to confirm that he was really seeing what he thought he was. “How did I summon a _rat?”_

To answer his question, the rat's eyes turned red, and Dean's eyes widened in shock. “Crowley?”

The rat moved forward, stopping about a foot before Dean and glaring up at him in a way that wasn’t exactly rat-like.

“What the hell happened to you?”

Crowley-the-rat proceeded to crawl up Dean's leg and under his jacket. Dean stumbled backwards, his arm flailing and hitting Sam, who was watching the scene with raised eyebrows. “What the hell, man?” Dean demanded. “Get off-” He stopped when Crowley nudged the angel blade in his jacket. “Someone was trying to kill you?” he pieced together. “So you had to take refuge in a rat?”

Crowley did the closest approximation to a nod that a rat could manage.

Dean reached into his jacket, picking Crowley up to hold him in his hand. “I don’t suppose you can teleport us out of here?”

His head moved from side to side. That would be a no, then.

“Well, shit.”

Crowley’s tail curled up, forming a question mark.

“We’re trapped and we’re losing oxygen.”

“And there’s no point in a demon taking up more of it,” Toni said, making to reach for Crowley.

Dean immediately pulled Crowley in to cradle in his arms protectively, while Sam stepped between Dean and Toni.

“You don’t get to make that call,” Sam said coldly. “In fact, you don’t get to make any call.” He turned to his brother, eyes briefly flicking down to rat that was looking between the two of them. “Let’s find a way out of here.”

They had probably been in worse situations, but there was something about the fear of suffocating in his own home that had Dean nearing frantic as they searched for a way out. Crowley helped as best he could, gesturing with his tail to communicate ideas. Finally, they managed to get outside, all taking a deep breath because they finally could.

“Okay,” Dean muttered, turning to Toni with narrowed eyes. “We just saved your life. Now you’re gonna tell us what the hell you did to our mom.”

She scoffed. “Saved my life? You would have let me suffocate if it hadn’t meant you dying, too.”

“So? We’re still the reason you’re alive. Start talking.”

She looked at him in disbelief before suddenly kicking him, sending him stumbling into Sam, and then turning to run. She hadn’t taken Crowley into account, though. He scampered forward and bit into her ankle, slowing her down just enough for Sam to recover and grab hold of her arm.

“My turn to get you to talk,” he spoke in a low voice, glaring at her furiously. “But I promise my methods will be effective.”

Her composure wavered, traces of fear breaking through. Dean smirked as he bent down to pick up Crowley, who nestled in the crook of his elbow, his tail wrapping around his arm. He pet him absentmindedly as Toni told them everything they wanted to know.

Once they had everything they needed, they took Crowley to retrieve his meatsuit, then went up against the British Men of Letters. Later that night, after Sam went to bed, Dean stayed up drinking with Crowley.

“I think I liked you better as a rat,” he muttered as he opened another beer.

Crowley snorted. “Certainly seemed like it. You were downright affectionate.”

“What?” Dean’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“You were petting me almost the entire time, Dean.”

His cheeks turned faintly pink. “I… wasn’t thinking about it.”

“Well, it felt nice.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he cringed, clearly haven’t had meant to say it out loud. “I just mean… after the day I had, it was nice to be… close to y- anyone.”

Dean raised his eyebrows. “How much have you drank?”

Crowley sighed. “Too much. But still not enough.”

He nodded understandingly. “Same.”

They drank in silence for a few minutes, occasionally glancing in each other’s direction, but never making eye-contact.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Dean finally said, the words falling from his mouth quickly, as though he had been keeping them in for so long, they all inevitably came spilling out at once.

Crowley blinked at him in surprise. “Where’d that come from?”

“You… you nearly died today, Crowley, and… I don’t want that to happen.”

A slight smile curled up one corner of his mouth. “That so?”

“Shut up,” he muttered, turning back to his beer.

He chuckled. “While we’re sharing, I’m glad that you’re okay, too.”

He tried and failed to hold back his smile. “Good. We’re both glad, then. At least, until tomorrow comes and we have to take on Lucifer and son.”

“Should probably enjoy it while we can, then.”

Dean turned to see that Crowley’s gaze was fixed on him, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. Dean swallowed thickly, suddenly finding it difficult to speak. “Yeah… suppose we should,” he admitted, his voice little more than a whisper.

He couldn’t say he was surprised when no more than a second later, Crowley’s lips were on his. He wished he could at least say he was surprised when he kissed him back, but honestly, there had never been any question about that. But he could lecture himself in the morning; for now, he was going to enjoy it while he could.


End file.
